Never start without a clear purpose with Liberating Structures - 9 Why's

How it used to go

She knew something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint it.

The project was running. There were meetings, action lists, and deadlines. People worked hard, commitments were kept, decisions were made. And yet everything felt heavy. As if everyone was constantly busy, but no one knew exactly what for.

In conversations, it was almost always about what needed to happen. About tasks, dependencies, and progress. Rarely about why they were actually doing this project.
When someone did ask that question, the answer remained vague.

“Because it’s important.”
“Because this is simply the assignment.”
“Because otherwise we’ll fall behind.”

She noticed what that did. Discussions became technical. Choices became difficult. And with every setback, the same underlying doubt emerged: what are we actually doing this for?

That was uncomfortable. Because as a leader, she was expected to have clarity about that.
And honestly: she didn’t have it anymore either.

A new structure

In a meeting where once again it was mainly about planning, she decided to do things differently. Not by providing more explanation, but by slowing down and deepening the conversation.

“I think we’re talking too quickly about what we’re doing,” she said.
“I first want to get clear on why this project is important to us — and whether we actually see that the same way.”

She proposed using Nine Why’s. First individually. Then in pairs to end with a group conversation.
Everyone received the first assignment:

“Write down for yourself: what do you do when you work on this project?”

No analysis. No discussion. Just write down: meeting, coordinating, deciding, executing, reporting.
Then she asked people to sit together in pairs. The instruction was simple, but sharp:

“Ask each other: Why is this important? And then ask again: Why?”

Not once. Multiple times. Until the answer was no longer about tasks, but about meaning.
She saw what happened. Conversations became calmer. More personal. Sometimes even searching.

“Yes… good question actually.”

After these conversations, they came together again. She invited the group to share what deeper purposes they had encountered. Not to agree, but to make visible what was living beneath the surface.

What emerged wasn’t a unified goal, but it was direction.
Less technical. More human. And surprisingly recognizable.

What was liberated

The first thing that was freed was authenticity.
People expressed why this work touched them. What they hoped the project would deliver. What they wanted to protect. What they didn’t want to lose.

That brought calm. Not because everything suddenly became clear, but because the conversation no longer remained superficial.
Tensions took on a different meaning. Disagreements often turned out to be about approach, not about intention. That took the edge off discussions.

The project felt less like a sum of tasks and more like something shared. Something that stood for something.

What shifted

In the weeks that followed, it didn’t stop with this one session.
When new projects were started, they first looked carefully at the underlying reasons for the project. Sometimes explicitly, sometimes almost casually.

“Why are we doing this again?”

Nine Whys became a recurring tool. Not always extensive, but recognizable as a way to return to the core.
Later she added Purpose-to-Practice to translate the shared purpose into behavior: if this is what we’re doing it for, what does that mean for how we collaborate and decide?

Slowly the habit changed. Not everything was necessary anymore. Choices became sharper. Work that didn’t contribute to the purpose was more easily let go.

The culture shifted from doing because we must to doing because it matters.